The Interview

“We don't have to have a fight, and we don't have to land in China, go to Beijing and win the war. All we have to do is prevent them to getting their objective of landing in Taiwan and conquering. It's not going to be easy, but we've been preparing for this for 77 years.”

Sumi Somaskanda speaks to Alexander Tah-ray Yui, Taiwan’s representative to the US.

The island, which lies roughly 100 miles off the coast of mainland China and is facing growing uncertainty both at home and abroad.

As geopolitical tensions rise around the world, there’s increasing focus on the intentions of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Beijing considers Taiwan part of China and has long-pursued what it calls reunification with the island.

Mr. Yui Tah-ray has held the his current post since December 2023, having previously served as Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister. His role is central to maintaining one of Taipei’s most important international relationships: with the United States.

Washington does not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state - and only 12 countries around the world do. But the US remains Taiwan’s most important international backer, providing critical defence and security support.

With President Trump back in the White House for a second term, questions remain over how Washington’s longstanding commitment to Taiwan will evolve and what that could mean for the island as tensions with Beijin continue. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with McKinsey China’s Joe Ngai, journalist Maggie Haberman, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Sumi Somaskanda Producer: Abby Godard Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Alexander Tah-ray Yui. Credit: Getty)

“Private communication is a fundamental human right for a reason, because when those with power over you have access to your intimate thoughts and your communication, they use those to punish you. They can use them to persecute you. They can use them to shut you up.” Megha Mohan speaks to Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation, which runs the encrypted messaging app Signal. Its end-to-end encyption means only the people in a conversation can read their messages. The protections are so strong that even Signal itself can’t see the contents.

That privacy can be vital for journalists living under authoritarian governments, dissidents and other vulnerable people, but it can also allow scammers, child abusers and criminals to communicate beyond Signal’s view.

Governments are demanding greater access to encrypted communications, but Whittaker says Signal would rather leave a country than weaken its protections. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including conversations with former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi; plus many others You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Megha Mohan Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider

(Image: Meredith Whittaker. Credit: Reuters)

BBC special correspondent James Naughtie speaks to former Governor of California, Jerry Brown.

He was first elected governor in 1974, succeeding Ronald Reagan, and went on to serve two eight-year terms in office, separated by nearly three decades.

Over the course of his public life, he met every US president from John F. Kennedy to Donald Trump.

Now retired on the California land where his ancestors settled in the nineteenth century, Brown reflects on a political career spanning five decades.

He discusses the growing influence of technology and AI, the spiritual beliefs that shaped how he governed, and the profound changes he has witnessed in American politics since he first entered public life.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, including episodes with Hunter Biden, the journalist Maggie Haberman, and former US Secretary of State John Kerry.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Jim Naughtie Producers: Cordelia Hemming, Ben Cooper and Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose and Farhana Haider

(Image: Jerry Brown. Credit: Getty)

“There aren't enough lawyers and judges on the planet if journalists are silent, because abuses of power just don't come to light, in my experience, without this relationship between a free media, fair courts, fair trials, robust judges, investigators, the police and so on. Without journalists there'd be no human rights protection and the rule of law.”

Anna Holligan speaks to human rights lawyer and Council of Europe rapporteur Shami Chakrabarti.

Born in London in 1969, Chakrabarti rose to prominence in the early 2000s when she was appointed director of the human rights organisation, Liberty. She and her team made headlines around the world campaigning against what they considered excessive anti-terror legislation introduced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

She stepped down from the position just over a decade later, after being appointed a life peer in the British House of Lords.

Since then, she’s been involved in a number of high-profile inquiries both in the UK and abroad. Most recently, she’s been tasked with leading a Council of Europe investigation into the fallout from the 2017 assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Caruana Galizia, one of Malta’s best-known anti-corruption journalists, was killed by a car bomb in October 2017. Her assassination and the continuing questions over the murder has raised serious concerns about the rule of law in Malta, an EU member state, as well as fears that corruption at the highest-levels could have wider implications for the European Union.

Thank you to the Global Eye team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, and Veolia CEO Estelle Brachlianoff. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Anna Holligan Producers: Vara Szajkowski, Lucy Provan and Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

“I do not want the United Nations of New York, Geneva or Vienna to be an ivory tower, a diplomatic ivory tower. I want to see the UN not of power and privilege, but the UN of service and impact. That is the UN I want see.”

James Copnall speaks to Olara Otunnu, Ugandan diplomat, lawyer and former Foreign Minister.

He has spent decades working at the highest levels of international diplomacy. He has also served as a United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

Now Uganda has formally nominated him for UN Secretary-General, putting him among seven candidates in the running to succeed Antonio Guterres. It is a position widely regarded as the world’s top diplomatic job.

Olara Otunnu talks about how he intends to bridge the gap between international politics and the needs of local people around the world. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, South Africa’s Ambassador to the US Roelf Meyer and the author Maggie O’ Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: James Copnall Producer: Sharon Hemans Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Olara Otunnu. Credit: Getty)

“He had no guardrails. He had no rules. He told Donald Trump, you know, when criticised, attack, attack, attack, deny, deny deny, always go on the offensive, never apologise. And Trump, when he met Roy Cohn, he began mimicing how he talked.”

BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell, speaks to author Kai Bird about Roy Cohn, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and mentor. Cohn rose to prominence as Senator Joe McCarthy’s chief counsel in the early 1950s, helping drive the campaign against alleged communists in the United States.

Decades later, he became Donald Trump’s lawyer and mentor shaping his approach to power.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Kai argues that Cohn’s lessons in attacking, denying and never apologising provided a blueprint for Trump’s political life. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews coming from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Paddy O’Connell Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider

(Image: Kai Bird. Credit: Getty)

“I think there’s been this underlying frustration among the youth of India for a very long time. If we look at the unemployment data, India currently has the highest unemployment rate in the last 40 years, and even when it comes to education, every year there’s not been one single government examination where the paper isn’t leaked, or the paper or the exam isn’t cancelled. So people are really frustrated with unemployment, and with the education ministry in India, which isn’t accountable at all.”

Yogita Limaye speaks to youth campaigner Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party.

Dipke rose to prominence in India earlier this year after criticising the country’s Chief Justice, who had compared unemployed young people and social-media activists to cockroaches.

Dipke was studying in the US when he posted "What if all cockroaches come together?" on the social media platform ‘X’ in response.

He thought little of the post at the time. But it quickly went viral, snowballing into a youth protest movement that has shaken India’s political establishment and thrust Dipke himself into the spotlight. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with fellow activist Sonam Wangchuk, writer Twinkle Khanna, and film director Rohan Kanawada. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Yogita Limaye Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Abhijeet Dipke. Credit: Reuters)

Justin Rowlatt speaks to Estelle Brachlianoff, chief executive of environmental firm Veolia. The corporation’s origins can be traced all the way back to 19th Century France, when it was established as a water company during the country’s industrial revolution.

More than a century-and-a-half later, it’s grown to become one of the world’s leading operators of environmental services, working across five continents - providing water supplies, waste management and energy services.

In this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Brachlianoff reveals how a multi-billion dollar corporation operates, as well as how Veolia adapts to the various challenges posed by climate change, and opportunities offered by technological advances.

“Why is it important that we increase the recycling rates? It's not just for the CO2 emissions, although it's important, it's because it's a source of materials as opposed to importing it from elsewhere. So in a way, instead of mining the planet, what about mining our waste? Instead of importing paper and oil and plastic, because plastic of course is traditionally made out of oil and lithium to make batteries, what about mining our waste?” says Brachlianoff.

(Image: Estelle Brachlianoff. Credit: Getty Images)

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

Thank you to the Big Boss Interview team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with entrepreneur Isaac Larian, meteorologist Celeste Saulo, and Arm CEO Rene Haas. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt Producers: Ben Cooper and Olie D'Albertanson Editor: Damon Rose

Ione Wells speaks to Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States. In the 1990s, Meyer was one of the leading negotiators in the talks that helped bring apartheid to an end.

Now he takes up his new post amid a serious rupture in relations with the US President Trump has cut aid, expelled the previous South African ambassador and offered refugee status to white Afrikaners he says are fleeing persecution, claiming the community faces “genocide”.

The South African government rejects that allegation. Meyer, himself an Afrikaner, explains why he believes Trump has been given the wrong picture and how his experience negotiating the end of apartheid could help repair relations with Washington.

“The notion of a mass attack on the Afrikaner was misrepresented by those that might have conveyed the message. I mean, I’m an Afrikaner from South Africa myself. And I can say that I’ve never experienced something of that kind. We found it strange. So the source is misrepresented, unfortunately, something that just doesn’t exist,” says Meyer.

(Photo: Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, wears a navy blazer with a white shirt and light blue tie. He has short white hair. Credit: Getty Images) The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Ione Wells Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose

“I can tell you here and now, those are exactly the words he said. I've only ever had two calls on the line with Prince Charles at any stage of my life. I was hyper alert to what he was saying, and those are precisely the words that he said, and I promise that to you now. Genuinely, that is what he said.” Laura Kuenssberg speaks to Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana was one of the most famous women in the world and was once expected to become queen. Her campaigning broke with royal convention and brought global attention to her chosen causes. Relentlessly pursued by the press, she was admired and attacked on a scale few public figures have experienced. Diana died at the age of 36 after a car crash in Paris. Now, nearly 30 years on, her brother has decided to set out the story as he remembers it. He attacks those he says harmed Diana, and what he sees as the royal establishment’s failure to protect her. Buckingham Palace has questioned whether grief has clouded his judgement and memory. Earl Spencer defends his recollections and explains why he believes his account must be placed on the historical record. Presenter: Laura Kuenssberg Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose

(Image: Earl Spencer. Credit: BBC)

“Not just African musician. Everybody, even journalist, even president, even football player, even promoter. We need to do it for those people who suffer, who don’t have food or security. We need everybody to denounce it. Speak louder, talk more loudly about the situation. Not just for Congo, but all Africa.”

Jewel Kiriungi speaks to Congolese musician Fally Ipupa, one of Africa’s biggest music stars.

His music has taken brought Congolese rumba to audiences around the world, earning him the Democratic Republic of Congo’s highest honour, a knighthood in the National Order of the Leopard.

Fally discusses what it means to represent Congolese identity internationally as conflict in the east of the country fuels one of the world’s worst displacement crises.

He recognises that his global success gives him a platform to draw attention to what is happening at home, but he argues that speaking out about the suffering is a wider responsibility.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with tech billionaire Reid Hoffman and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organisation.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Jewel Kiriungi Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Justin Lang and Farhana Haider

(Image: Fally Ipupa. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

‘I compare the erosion of international humanitarian law with bankruptcy it happens gradually at first and then all of a sudden instantly. This is what is happening with the Geneva Conventions at the moment. You look away, you look away, you look away, you increase your tolerance level until all of a sudden you realize we've crossed the line. We've crossed the red line, and we've done so collectively, because these things are happening under international watch.’ Imogen Foulkes meets Mirjana Spoljaric, the first woman to lead the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The ICRC is 163 years old. It works in war zones around the world, with one central mission: to uphold the Geneva Conventions, the rules designed to preserve some humanity, even in war.

All 196 states have ratified the conventions, They established fundamental protections: civilians should not be targeted; hospitals and health workers must be protected and humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those who need it.

But in practice, Mirjana Spoljaric says, those rules are increasingly being flouted. She talks about the growing lack of accessing war zones, the ICRC being denied visits to prisoners of war, and what happens when even the most basic rules of war are ignored.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the head of the World Meteorological Organisation, Celeste Saulo, the former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and the author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Imogen Foulkes Producer: Farhana Haider Editor: Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Mirjana Spoljaric. Credit: Joel Saget/Getty)

“This is one of the exact aspect of hybrid warfare of Russia… They are targeting us specifically to create dissensions, to create and to prop up artificially some voices in our societies that otherwise would be quite marginal and create dissensions. So they want to attack us and make sure that our democracies are more fragile, because the more fragile we are, the less we're able to counter their aggressive actions.”

Evan Davis speaks to David Vigneault, Chief Intelligence Officer at Strider Technologies and former director of Canada’s intelligence services, about the geopolitical instabilities and technologies that are re-shaping the world order.

Between 2017 and 2024, he was responsible for the operations of CSIS, the country’s foreign intelligence and security agency. This period presented a number of challenges for Vigneault and his organisation, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the rise of AI, and an unpredictable Trump presidency across the border.

You’re going to hear his take on current tensions around the world, what keeps him up at night, and why he thinks cooperation is key.

Thank you to the PM team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukrainian intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky, the World Health Organisation’s Hanan Balkhy, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Evan Davis Producers: Rosie Seed and Ben Cooper Editors: Justine Lang and Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: David Vigneault. Credit: Reuters)

Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s chief international correspondent, meets Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi as the Taliban seeks greater international recognition. The Taliban returned to power five years ago but Russia is still the only country to have formally recognised their rule. Afghanistan is pushing for stronger diplomatic relations, but their treatment of women and girls remains one of the biggest obstacles. We ask the foreign minister why Afghan women and girls are facing growing restrictions on education, work and public life.

“The conduct with women shouldn’t be looked at through the glasses of western culture and tradition. Afghan values should be considered... You can wander around Afghanistan, in Kabul in the cities, see the way women work, do business or go to elementary schools or to Madrassas, the situation isn’t the way it can be interpreted,” he says.

Afghanistan also needs more aid and investment in the midst of a deepening humanitarian and economic crisis. Are the Taliban prepared to do more to achieve full international recognition?

(Image: Amir Khan Muttaqi. Credit: Reuters)

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the UN secretary General Antonio Guterres, the former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet and the film director Christopher Nolan. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Lyse Doucet Producer: Farhana Haider

“I had hired a CEO for the last two years. The company was at a place where revenue had plateaued. I wasn’t someone who could look at a spreadsheet 50 tabs wide and tell my CFO what to do. I was definitely out of my league and I didn’t like that job, and a lot of different things happened before we ended up filing for bankruptcy.” Leanna Byrne speaks to Sophia Amoruso, founder of online fashion retailer Nasty Gal. What began as a one-woman eBay shop selling vintage clothes became one of online fashion’s most recognisable brands. Within a few years, Nasty Gal was valued at $350 million, bringing expectations that it would grow like a technology company and become a billion-dollar business. Sophia reflects on feeling out of her depth running the company, criticism of its workplace culture and the decisions that led to bankruptcy. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Leanna Byrne Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Farhana Haider and Damon Rose

(Image: Sophia Amoruso. Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty)

“We don’t have another way for surviving, because we are an independent state, it's our territory, it's our land, it’s our culture, it’s our history, and we must fight to prevent the full occupation by the Russian Federation our territory.”

Dan Johnson speaks to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of the GUR, Ukraine’s military intelligence service, about the ongoing war with Russia.

Formed shortly after Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the GUR is tasked with defending the country at home and abroad through the use of political and military intelligence.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the service has played a key role in holding off and pushing back Kyiv’s larger neighbour through activities including intelligence gathering, espionage and sabotage. As the war gears up to enter another harsh winter with no obvious end in sight, both sides continue to look for new ways to break the deadlock.

In this exclusive, wide-ranging interview, Skibitsky discusses Russia’s use of North Korean troops and military hardware in the war. He also talks about Ukraine's latest strategy of deep-range drone strikes thousands of kilometres into Russia, and how its military plans to grind down Moscow. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with journalist Dmitry Muratov, former Sudanese leader Aisha Musa, and Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Dan Johnson Producer: Anastassia Levchenko Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Vadym Skibitsky. Credit: Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

“Let's go back to the timeframe with the internet building out. We didn’t have an issue that the internet 20 years later is not a valuable utility… If you don't have access to a smartphone, try to get into a sporting event or a concert - it’s not going to happen. That's the internet at its backbone. So artificial intelligence will be the same. It's going to be table stakes for everything that we do. We may see a short-term bump in the road or some pause or whatever you want to call it, and then people will freak out and say ‘AI's dead’, which is complete nonsense because it's only going to get better from here and it's going be a greater utility. So I don't worry about it too much.”

Faisal Islam speaks to Rene Haas, CEO of UK-based computer chip firm Arm Holdings, about the current boom in the industry being driven by the growth of AI and data centres.

Although some people may not be familiar with the Arm name, their silicon chips are present almost everywhere - from smartphones all the way up to supercomputers.

Founded in the early 1990s, the firm began its life operating out of an old turkey barn in the English countryside near Cambridge. As technology shrank and became increasingly mobile, Arm, whose main focus is the design of efficient chips, positioned themselves at the heart of the tech revolution.

It is now mostly owned by a large Japanese tech investment group and their chips can be found in almost every part of modern life - from smartphones and cameras through to cars and supercomputers.

With the AI revolution continuing apace, analysts have said that Arm will have a key role to play in the coming years. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with AI expert Parmy Olson, Hinge CEO Jackie Jantos, and McKinsey China’s Jo Ngai. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Faisal Islam Producers: Ben Cooper, Priya Patel and Danielle Codd Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Rene Haas. Credit: Getty)

“People just wanted to own the way they worked, but with that comes these institutional structures that have been built around the history of work that doesn’t allow for benefits programs or paid time off, or insurance. So there were all these things I knew that weighed on me. It wasn’t a perfect system.” The BBC’s Sarah Rogers speaks to Leah Solivan, founder and former chief executive of TaskRabbit, an app that connects people who need one-off tasks done by workers they can hire easily. Typical tasks include: errands, gardening, moving and furniture assembly. Founded in 2008, TaskRabbit helped pioneer the gig economy, giving workers greater control over when and how they worked. But that flexibility often came without the benefits associated with traditional employment. Leah reflects on the gaps in the model she helped create, why she believes TaskRabbit could have acted sooner, and what led her to sell the company to IKEA. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with tech billionaire Reid Hoffman and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organisation. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Sarah Rogers Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose

BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell speaks to Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu about why he thinks liberal democracy is in crisis, and how artificial intelligence could make it worse.

Daron argues that liberal democracy worked because people were given a say in how they were governed and then benefited from their country’s economy as it prospered.

But western governments have made major decisions on issues like immigration without first building public agreement, something which was once important.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight, he says that together, these changes have left many working people feeling that politicians no longer listen to them and have helped to fuel a rise in populism.

Now Daron warns that the way artificial intelligence is developed and used, so far without consensus, could make it worse, by widening inequality and putting people out of work.

“AI is going to transform every aspect of our lives, and we're not being asked. We have no say in how AI is going to shape our society. I mean people in the UK, people in the US. Even worse for 6 billion people who are outside of the US, UK, China. Their lives are going to be completely reshaped by AI and they have zero say whatsoever,” he says. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk, South African minister Gayton McKenzie and New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Paddy O’Connell Producer: Osman Iqbal Editor: Damon Rose

(Image: Daron Acemoglu. Credit: Europa Press News via Getty Images)

“For 80 years, we only have men [lead the UN] and I think it is not about women because she is a woman … The idea is a woman because she has the experience, the leadership, the capacity, the knowledge, the ability to do things that need to be done…So I hope that that will be something that members could understand that it will be fantastic. But, to be honest, I'm not sure that every country is ready for that.” James Copnall speaks to Michelle Bachelet, a former President of Chile and one of the world’s most prominent human rights advocates. Bachelet made history as Chile’s first woman president, serving two terms before going on to become the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. Now, she is one of the candidates vying to become the next secretary general of the United Nations, a position never held by a woman since the organisation was founded in 1945. With the UN facing growing pressure to reform, Bachelet says the organisation needs to adapt to a changing world, become more effective and better reflect the people and countries it represents. She also argues that it is time for a woman to lead the United Nations, after eight decades in which the top job has been held exclusively by men. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and film director Christopher Nolan. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: James Copnall Producers: Sharon Hemans, Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Michelle Bachelet. Credit: Raul Bravo/AFP via Getty Images)

“It's a distortion of real pressures. When I'm analysing trends around men…they are wanting to lean into what being a man means. In many cases strength, loyalty, protection. Those are not bad values. Those are being exploited, weaponised, and redirected in order to either sell a product or sell an idea.” Marianna Spring and Matt Shea speak to Kristina Wilfore, Director at Reset Tech, about their new report into the so-called ‘Male Grievance Industry’, which Kristina says is capitalising on the loneliness, economic anxiety, and identity of men. She argues it’s a growing business on social media which defrauds men by targeting them with content that distorts the real pressures they face. She also reveals new data about looksmaxxing, the extreme cosmetic social media trend, which shows how just 216 accounts drove 14.6 billion views on this type of content within the last two years. Thank you to the Top Comment team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Hunter Biden, son of former US President Joe Biden, head of the World Meteorological Organisation Celeste Saulo, and independent Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Marianna Spring and Matt Shea Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Kristina Wilfore. Credit: Photo by Rachel Hofer)

“More Chinese companies are put out of business by other Chinese companies. Chinese companies are not put out of business because of Western companies, so this whole competition is not, from a Chinese guy's mind, like a US-China competition. It’s more ‘how do I survive this gym?’ because it's damn hard to keep staying alive at home. That in turn makes you very competitive in the rest of the world.”

Maura Fogarty speaks to Joe Ngai, Chairman of the China region for global consulting firm McKinsey.

He advises senior management at Chinese and multinational corporations in the region which gives him a unique insight into the world’s second-largest economy.

Having written numerous books and reports on China’s economic landscape, Ngai’s expertise has been recognised by accolades from the likes of Forbes China and Bloomberg.

In this interview, we hear his thoughts about how the Chinese market has changed in the 25 years since the country joined the World Trade Organisation, and on how AI is developing and managing tensions with US competitors.

Thank you to the Asia Business team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, director Chloé Zhao, and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, head of the World Trade Organisation. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Maura Fogarty Producers: Ben Cooper and Jaltson Akkanath Chummar Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Joe Ngai. Credit: Getty)

“Sometimes we confuse activity with impact. And here I think the way we measure results should be different. How many lives has the UN saved? How many people has the UN helped to live out of poverty? How many people have we prevented from conflict? How many people were we able to support?” The BBC’s Anne Soy speaks to María Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador’s former foreign minister and a candidate to become the first woman secretary general of the United Nations. She is seeking the role at a time when the UN faces severe financial pressure, falling international aid budgets and questions about its influence over major conflicts. Espinosa believes the organisation remains essential, but warns that it could become irrelevant unless it changes how it works. She describes the choice facing the UN as “reform, transform or die”. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russia’s nuclear envoy Mikhail Ulyanov and UNICEF chief Catherine Russell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Anne Soy Producer: Osman Iqbal, Sharon Hemands and Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose

(Image: María Fernanda Espinosa. Credit: Getty)

“I think Pac was actually traumatised by the poverty. You know, poverty can be very, very traumatic. Having no lights, having no food from time to time, having no clothes while you’re going to school, and bumming clothes. Them stories, it was real. That really happened to Pac. Pac was sensitive, so he felt things deeply.” The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil speaks to Mopreme Shakur, step-brother of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996, and now, almost 30 years later, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial in connection with his murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Through music exploring poverty, racism and injustice, Tupac became one of hip-hop’s most loved and influential figures, selling more than 75 million records worldwide. Mopreme recalls growing up with Tupac and explains why he believes poverty and politics shaped his brother and the music he went on to make.

He talks about Tupac's mother having been the section leader of the Harlem chapter of the Black Panther Party, and links Tupac’s own experience of abandonment to his concern with how neglected children can become hardened adults. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Shaimaa Khalil Producers: Osman Iqbal and Regan Morris Editors: Damon Rose and Farhana Haider

(Image: Mopreme Shakur. Credit: Getty)

“Was it good for our Constitution? Was it good for the American people? Was it good for my dad's legacy? No, on all counts. It was not. All I know is that I'm grateful that he did it for me.” BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell speaks to Hunter Biden, son of former president Joe Biden, about his father’s controversial decision to give him a presidential pardon at the end of his one term in office. The unconditional pardon was issued in December 2024, as Hunter faced sentencing for two criminal cases. In a statement at the time, the president said his son had been "singled out" and called the cases "a miscarriage of justice." In an interview for BBC Newsnight, Hunter Biden also talks about the depths of his drug and alcohol addictions, and the toll it took on his family. He talks about the deteriorating health of his father and reveals whether he has presidential ambitions of his own. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk, South African minister Gayton McKenzie and New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Paddy O’Connell Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Hunter Biden. Credit: Reuters)

“[This weather] is a new norm, and we need to make sure that we are prepared to deal with that…these extreme wildfires put more responsibility onto improving our forecasting tools to support the brigades, to support communities.”

Victoria Gill speaks to Professor Celeste Saulo, head of the World Meteorological Organisation, about the extreme weather events making headlines in recent months. She says the wildfires, heatwaves, droughts and flooding are the new normal and the ability to forecast these events are more important than ever.

The WMO helps countries build resilience to weather, climate and water related hazards by monitoring conditions, improving forecasts and the global sharing of data and information.

Saulo took office in 2024, becoming the first woman and South American to lead the UN agency. She explains how climate change is one of the biggest threats facing the world today.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sumant Sinha the founder of India’s renewable energy company ReNew, executive director of Unicef Catherine Russell, and film director Rohan Kanawada. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Victoria Gill Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Farhana Haider

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Celeste Saulo. Credit: Photo by World Meteorological Organization)

"There are repressions, political repressions, against freedom of speech, against elections, against the rights of citizens to hold mass events. To such an extent that we don't know what the real public mood is.”

The BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg meets Dmitry Muratov one of Russia’s most prominent independent journalists.

For more than 30 years, he has been one of Russia’s staunchest defenders of independent journalism, and one of the Kremlin’s most outspoken critics. Dmitry Muratov co-founded Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper known for exposing corruption and human rights abuses - work that has come at a cost, with several of its journalists murdered.

In 2021, Muratov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression.” Since then, Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought an even greater crackdown on dissent and independent media.

In this exclusive interview, he talks about journalism under Putin, the war in Ukraine and the fight to keep telling the truth. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Russia’s nuclear envoy Mikhail Ulyanov, UNICEF chief Catherine Russell and music legend Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Steve Rosenberg Producers: Ben Tavener and Farhana Haider Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Dmitry Muratov. Credit: Europa Press News via Getty Images)

“I just knew that I wanted to be a mega superstar and I didn't know how…I feel like Africa chose me before I even chose Africa, and I feel music chose me before I chose music.”

Nkechi Ogbonna speaks to Nigerian singer and songwriter Yemi Alade about becoming one of Africa's biggest music stars and a trailblazer who has helped take Afrobeats to the world.

Alade has collaborated with artists including Beyoncé and became the first female African Afrobeats artist to surpass 100 million views on a single music video.

She's now touring the continent to promote her latest album. Alade reflects on the challenges women face in Africa’s music industry, myths around success and some of the difficulties she’s faced touring on a Nigerian passport.

Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Gugu Zuma-Ncube and Thuli Zuma, executive producers of South Africa Netflix hit ‘The Polygamist’, legendary musician Paul McCartney, and ballet star Carlos Acosta. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producer: Cordelia Hemming Editor: Damon Rose

(Image: Yemi Alade. Credit: Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)

“This movement was by young people who had hardly anything to lose. We had no fear and that's what spread across the country and today people are raising their voices. This time it stopped at the education ministry, but if this continues, I think the younger generation may not stop at just education.” Rajini Vaidyanathan speaks to Indian activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose 26-day hunger strike made him a central figure in youth-led protests over leaked exam papers. The anger about leaks broadened into frustration over limited opportunities for young people, and the demonstrations became one of the biggest public displays of dissent against Narendra Modi’s BJP government. Sonam ended his fast after receiving assurances on education reform. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan later resigned, one of the key demands from the protestors. He explains his belief that non-violent protest can influence those in power, the physical risk you take if you stage a hunger strike, and why the movement may not stop at education. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and author Maggie O’Farrell. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Rajini Vaidyanathan Producer: Osman Iqbal Editors: Farhana Haider and Damon Rose

(Image: Sonam Wangchuk. Credit: Getty)